Jose Lobaton

There was Yunel Escobar’s backhanded stab of John Mayberry’s smash down the third-base line in the top of the first, perhaps preventing two runs from scoring. There was Michael Taylor’s galloping catch of Eric Campbell’s drive to deep right-center in the top of the fifth, again perhaps preventing two runs from scoring. There was Bryce…

While Saturday’s walk-off win will be remembered for Bryce Harper’s heroics, it was the performance of a part-time bat that underscored the true depth of the Nationals’ lineup. Backup catcher Jose Lobaton, who Matt Williams inserted into the lineup because of his previous success against Braves starter Julio Teheran, justified his manager’s faith in him…

ATLANTA — If your head is still spinning from the hysteria of last night — as a certain beat reporter’s certainly is — here are even more takeaways from the Nationals’ historic, 13-12 victory over the Braves… Denard Span went 5-for-6 with 11 total bases and nearly hit for the cycle Dan Uggla got most…

GAME IN A NUTSHELL: Where to begin with this one? Guess we need to start at the beginning, with A.J. Cole making his major-league debut and getting beat up to the tune of nine runs in only two innings, a painful way to be introduced to the world. Who would’ve believed that would be a…

PHILADELPHIA — The Nationals’ coaching staff has analyzed the club’s first-inning woes, a recurring problem for this team through the season’s month-plus, trying to find a common theme or solution to the issue. And in the end, they can’t find anything to explain why they keep digging themselves into these kind of early holes. “No.…

In a marathon game of 12 innings – four hours and 14 minutes of baseball – the Nationals ended up taking their 11th loss of the season at the hands of a former teammate. The Padres have had major troubles scoring runs this season, but they broke through on a Xavier Nady RBI single in…

If the Nationals keep giving themselves opportunities to drive in runs, they will eventually convert at least some of those opportunities, that’s what Matt Williams insists. “It’s part of the game, and it is the game,” the rookie manager said after watching his team go a staggering 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position during Thursday…

The Nationals have produced enough late rallies already this season — they’ve got seven come-from-behind victories in 22 games — that they don’t ever feel a sense of panic, or feel like all hope is lost. But last night’s bottom-of-the-ninth drama was particularly out-of-the-blue given the situation. Trailing 4-1 and showing little sign of life…

NEW YORK — Though the Nationals have said nothing official about the status of Wilson Ramos’ injured left hand, all signs point to a broken hamate bone, the latest in string of unfortunate maladies for the snakebitten catcher.

Apparently content with their current catching depth, the Nationals traded veteran backstop Koyie Hill to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday for a player to be named later or cash. MLB.com first reported the deal. Hill signed with the Nationals just over a month prior as a free agent and appeared in 10 spring games with…

VIERA, Fla. — For three hours each morning, the five Venezuelan members of the Nationals’ roster allow their minds to be consumed only with baseball. Wilson Ramos, Jose Lobaton and Sandy Leon can focus on their catching skills and working with the club’s pitching staff. Gabriel Alfaro and Felipe Rivero can concentrate on their bullpen…

With a new baseball season around the corner, it’s time to try some new things. At CSN we cover the Nationals on a variety of platforms, so why not start a podcast? I, Chase Hughes, along with Tim Murray of ESPN 980 have done just that. This week we recorded the first episode of our…

VIERA, Fla. — Jose Lobaton sat at his hastily constructed locker inside Space Coast Stadium, his No. 59 jersey not yet hung, his nameplate thrown together in the wake of Thursday’s trade with the Rays. The 29-year-old catcher, though, looked perfectly at home in his new surroundings, aided in large part by the nearby presence…

VIERA, Fla. — Mike Rizzo had attempted all winter to upgrade his catching depth but insisted all along he’d be comfortable entering spring training with Jhonatan Solano, Sandy Leon or Chris Snyder backing up starter Wilson Ramos. And then on the first day of camp, Rizzo pulled off a deal long suspected, acquiring Jose Lobaton…

Updated at 1:52 p.m. VIERA, Fla. — On the day pitchers and catchers reported for spring training, the Nationals dealt one of their hurlers for a No. 2 backstop. The Nationals traded right-hander Nate Karns to the Rays for catcher Jose Lobaton and two prospects: left-hander Felipe Rivero and outfielder Drew Vettleson. Karns, the Nationals’…